September 1, 2015
It's official!
Dr. Rusty Herring at Cornerstone Family Chiropractic has purchased a freezer and donated space to create an approved Mother's Milk Depot for human breast milk donations in our special mom community. In the spirit of the East Alabama Birth Village, Dr. Rusty has decided to name the depot the East Alabama Mother's Milk Depot. On Tuesday, September 8, at 4:30 p.m., we will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark this wonderful advancement in our Village.
Mothers who wish to donate breast milk to critically-ill infants will be able to drop off donations at Cornerstone Family Chiropractic, where they will be logged in and stored in a freezer. On a periodic basis, volunteer staff, including EAMC Volunteer Breastfeeding Counselors, will box up the donations and ship them to the Mother's Milk Bankin Birmingham where they will be processed and distributed by prescription to tiny NICU babies in Alabama, lowering their risk for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and improving their health and healing abilities.
Local mothers' donated breast milk will treat Alabama babies, thanks to the Mother's Milk Bank of Alabama. In just two years, this Birmingham milk bank has raised enough money to purchase lab equipment to pasteurize breast milk. Its grand opening will also be the same week as the East Alabama Mother's Milk Depot ribbon cutting!
In order to donate breast milk, donors will be screened through a process at no cost to themselves. A donor must be willing to give a minimum of 100 oz. of breast milk, unless it is a mother who has experienced a pregnancy loss. In that case, she will be able to donate any amount of breast milk she wishes. For more information on becoming a donor, visit the Mother's Milk Bank of Alabama, where you will begin the screening process. Once you have received your donor ID, you will be able to take your milk to our new, local depot for logging and shipping.
Several individuals have been instrumental in bringing this opportunity to Auburn/Opelika. The first is Kara Newby, who, less than one year ago, lost her daughter Lyddia to an umbilical cord accident. Kara donated over 1,000 oz. of Lyddia's breast milk to the Mother's Milk Bank of Alabama. But she had to drive to Birmingham to do so. The thought occurred to her that we needed a depot here! She approached Dr. Rusty, and he readily agreed, in addition to committing to buying the special freezer required for storage. Lisa Horstkamp, a local CLC, also helped organize this endeavor. Thank you to ALL THREE for making it easier to donate human breast milk to Alabama babies!
Please come celebrate with us and learn more about human breast milk donation!